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2008-2009 Annual Report | |
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Being Accountable UHN is now in the second year of our 2008-2010 Hospital Accountability Agreement with the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network (LHIN). As we worked to meet all our service accountabilities and increase access to our local community under the current economic climate, we were challenged to ensure we stayed on budget. Throughout our budget management process, we have remained committed to our promise of no involuntary layoffs among our staff. As a result, our major focus has been on reducing overtime and aligning our patient volumes in keeping with Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) budgeted volumes. 2008 has been a year of looking forward as we have been in ongoing negotiations with the MOHLTC and the Toronto Central LHIN to ensure a stable financial platform for our programs—specifically Transplant, Neuroscience, Cancer, Chronic Kidney Disease and Mental Health and Addictions. We have been successful in raising awareness of the significant role that UHN plays in delivering health care services to Ontarians and we are beginning to make progress with the MOHLTC and the Toronto Central LHIN on one-time funding issues. We are pleased to have successfully met our wait times accountability targets in nearly all areas. In the area of cancer wait times—an ongoing issue across the province—UHN continues to be involved in multi-tiered efforts to address it on a broader, provincial scale and help come up with solutions that will enhance care for all Ontario patients. A measure of UHN’s influence in shaping the future of health care and increasing the overall access and accountability of our system is the frequency with which our leaders are asked to champion local, provincial and even international change efforts. From advising on quality and patient safety initiatives to consulting on service delivery, comprehensive program development, performance management and information technology, there are many examples in 2008 that showcase our talent. Greening health care As a result, we have eliminated bottled water from our Nutritional Services Department and are working with individual departments to phase out bottled water cooler services, saving both energy and money. Our Cycling Master Plan continues to expand—highlights include the opening of an indoor bike lock-up facility at TWH; our existing composting efforts have grown to include the food courts at TGH and TWH; and we were pleased to roll out the next phases of our Thermostats, Lights and Controls (TLC) – Care to Conserve program. The response was overwhelming, with staff not only embracing the new initiatives, but taking the time to contact UHN leadership and suggest additional changes, or share their own existing “green actions” with their colleagues. This year, we were also pleased to continue rolling out the TLC program, which launched at TWH in 2007. We have now brought the program to TGH, and are looking forward to introducing it to staff at PMH in the coming year. The TLC program focuses on creating a culture of conservation and encouraging behavioural change from individual staff members. A key component of TLC is involving staff in helping us identify areas where we can make changes, which the Environment and Energy Department can then work on implementing in conjunction with other departments, such as our Facilities Department. Our environmental efforts and leadership was recognized this year with awards from the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment for Pollution Prevention and the 2008 Practice Green Health Environmental Leadership Award, in which we attained the highest level for the second year running.
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